# 328
Chapter 328 – Born Killers
They were facing forty to fifty convicts, each possessing a Forbidden Ruin. The abilities were so varied that dodging every one was impossible; sooner or later some bizarre Ruin would snare you mid-fight.
After all, this was four against fifty.
Lin Qiye quickly locked onto his target: a dwarf barely a meter tall crouched in a corner a hundred meters away, smirking as he sketched gestures in the air. Pale gray light shimmered between his palms.
Every time those palms dropped, Lin Qiye’s body was sliced apart, and his control over his limbs plummeted.
Right now he felt half-paralyzed; even gripping his blade was difficult.
Frowning, he sent his two Straight Blades whipping through the air straight at the dwarf.
Cut off the source and the spell dies—kill the dwarf and everything returns to normal. In this chaos, losing control of your body is a death sentence.
But the dwarf wasn’t the only one hunting him.
Before the blades reached their mark they slammed into an invisible wall and froze, unable to advance an inch. Lin Qiye glanced sideways: a one-armed man had extended his remaining arm, weaving an unseen cage around him.
At that instant Lin Qiye sensed something. He shifted his fragmented body a few inches forward—just as a massive figure crashed onto the spot he’d occupied an eye-blink earlier!
BOOM—!!
Stone shards flew. Through the dust rose a half-man, half-wolf monstrosity nearly three meters tall, brown fur bristling like steel needles. Cold eyes fixed on the sliced-up Lin Qiye.
With a roar the beast raised thick arms, claws glinting, and slashed.
If those claws connected, it wouldn’t be mere fragmentation—he’d be torn to pieces.
The trap had snapped shut.
Everyone assumed Lin Qiye was finished—until scorn flashed in his eyes and blinding sorcerous light erupted. His severed body morphed into a red-haired woman in cyan caretaker uniform.
Transformation magic – Caretaker No. 004, Flame-Vein Earth Dragon, Hongyan.
The instant the change completed, the paralysis vanished. As the wolf claws descended, “Hongyan” threw up pale arms that shifted into crimson dragon talons, meeting the blow head-on.
BANG—!!
A cyclone exploded outward. The werewolf’s arms went numb from the impact and he staggered back. Before he could recover, “Hongyan” opened her jaws; searing draconic fire gathered in front of her.
The wolf’s pupils shrank to pinpricks.
“What the hell—”
WHOOSH—!!
The fire-breath swallowed the werewolf and several nearby convicts. Though Lin Qiye couldn’t perfectly replicate a Sea-realm Flame-Vein Earth Dragon yet, the River-realm prisoners stood no chance.
Light flashed again; “Hongyan” reverted to the sliced-up Lin Qiye.
Dragon form packed power, but it locked out his own Forbidden Ruins. To use other abilities he had to return to “Lin Qiye.”
With the wolf dead, Lin Qiye flipped his palm. A silver three-tiered cube appeared—summoned by定向召唤魔法 – Caretaker No. 003, Chaos Cube.
The cube floated, spinning wildly. Space twisted; the invisible cage around him unraveled. His eyes narrowed, and the two Straight Blades—now freed—beheaded the horrified dwarf in a single blur of steel.
Whole once more, Lin Qiye turned calmly toward the one-armed man who’d caged him.
The man’s heart hammered; terror flooded back.
From ambush to counter-kill, the whole sequence had taken under ten seconds. This youth’s abilities were too freakish—what kind of monster was he?
He spun and sprinted away, but after two steps dizziness hit. When his vision cleared he found himself… standing right in front of Lin Qiye.
Lin Qiye cradled the silver cube in one hand, Straight Blade in the other. Blood dripped from the blade, dyeing the darkness beneath his feet crimson.
Pale-gold eyes narrowed as he raised the gore-stained sword.
“N-no—don’t—” the man begged.
SHUK—!
Blue steel kissed his throat; the plea died in a spray of red.
Lin Qiye shifted his gaze from the corpse to the empty air beside him.
“You think hiding means I can’t see you?”
CLANG—!
The second Straight Blade shot from afar, skewering the void. Blood blossomed; a gaunt figure materialized, the blade through his chest. A broken steel spike clattered from his fingers, eyes wide with terror and disbelief.
Even dying, he couldn’t fathom how Lin Qiye had pierced his perfect stealth.
“Sorry,” Lin Qiye said tonelessly, withdrawing the blade and flicking off the blood. “I’ve got quite a few Forbidden Ruins. Your invisibility doesn’t work on me.”
He surveyed the scattered corpses, dismissed the Chaos Cube back to the asylum, and walked on.
Around him—silence.
Underfoot, the darkness had turned a deep, wet red.
“He’s gone berserk… Qiye’s completely slaughter-crazy now.” Riding his golden flying sword overhead, Baili Pangpang swallowed hard.
He glanced next at the murderous, demon-like Cao Yuan, then at An Qingyu in the distance, smiling while dismembering someone, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
“Every last one of them… born killers.”